On Tuesday, Dec. 21, the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their second straight preseason game to the Los Angeles Clippers 108-103. Kobe Bryant sat out the matchup with a torn ligament in his right wrist.

Normally, an exhibition game between two teams means absolutely nothing. However, with the all of the drama surrounding the Lakers and Clippers, including Chris Paul trade, I think this year’s preseason series has some importance.

With Kobe Bryant on the bench, the Lakers are definitely in trouble. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol performed well inside, and Metta World Peace was decent off the bench, but the team doesn’t have the speed on the perimeter to keep up with the Clippers. The Lakers are going to have the same problems they had last year with strong backcourts. Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Mo Williams gave the Lakers problems in both games, and that won’t change whether it’s in the preseason or not.

However, the Lakers frontcourt is still the team’s strength, even without the traded Lamar Odom. Bynum was especially dominant on Tuesday night with 26 points on 11 of 15 shooting with 11 rebounds. Both Bynum and Gasol have performed well in both games despite limited minutes. At the moment, I’ll take the Bynum/Gasol team over the Clippers’ Tyson Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

There is another factor that bears mentioning. The Lakers roster hasn’t settled yet. That was evident in the first game, and it remained the same on Tuesday night. Jason Kapono and Matt Barnes were non-factors in both games, and the rest of the Lakers bench has shown little consistency.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have found effective bench players in Randy Foye, Brian Cook and Mo Williams among others. Each of them had their moments in the two-game set against the Lakers, and they should be able to produce when needed throughout the season.

Overall, if there is anything we can take from the exhibition series, it’s that the Lakers’ weaknesses from last season are still there, and the Clippers roster has settled more quickly than their rivals. If the Lakers don’t find a way to seal up some of their holes, this could be the year the Clippers pass them.

Derek Ciapala has been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers since childhood. His favorite Lakers’ moment is when they beat the Detroit Pistons 108-105 in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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Mike Brown has taken over as the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and says he’s ready to help the team build on its past success.

During his introduction on Tuesday, Brown made it clear that the Lakers are still Kobe Bryant’s team. He says his first meeting with the superstar “went very well.”

Bryant and some of the other players had publicly supported longtime Lakers assistant Brian Shaw in his bid to replace Phil Jackson, who retired. But Brown says he respects everyone’s opinion and that winning will cure the mixed public reaction that greeted the announcement of his hiring last week.